A Guide to Large and Grand Format Digital Printing Technology

This guide has been designed to help you understand the demands of the ever expanding digital print market. In this article you will find an explanation of the technologies and applications and an overview of the products available.

History

Before the advent of large format digital printers exhibition graphics were produced using a combination of computer-cut vinyl lettering, traditional large-format photographic prints and specialist ?Kentint? photographic prints with or without overmounted photos. Large graphic panels which had multiple colours were difficult & costly to make.

The first large format inkjet printers were available in the 1980s with Canon claiming to have invented the first inkjet ?bubble jet? technology.

Digital colour production printing has advanced considerably since the appearance? at IPEX in 1993, of the first Indigo and Xeikon digital presses.

Digital Printing in monochrome can be tracked back to a few years earlier when Xerox introduced their first Docutech.

Today digital printing is developing quickly with better speed at higher resolution. A study in the US by Tradewatch Research Consultancy predicts that in 5 years that the number of comercial printers with digital presses will increase by 234%

So What is Digital Printing?

The technical definition of digital printing simply refers to the transfer of electronic computer files directly to the paper (no need to create plates)

But digital print is not only based on its technology, digital is the result of a market need for data on-demand, fast turnarounds, variable data and short print runs which cannot be easily achieved using conventional offset printing or screen printing.

Digital Processes

There are several different types of digital print solutions and these will be explained in more detail in following articles, but all have some common traits.

Importantly, digital print cuts out several production steps from the traditional printing method. This gives the possibility of producing much smaller batches of printed matter quickly and cost efficiently.

How Does Inkjet Work?

Of the variety of inkjet technoloies developed, the one that has been most widely adopted is 'drop on demand' or DOD. This works by squirting small droplets of ink onto paper through tiny nozzles.

The way in which the tiny ink droplets are formed and delivered onto the substrate fall into 2 different categories; Aqueous/thermal and Piezo. When specifying print media for inkjet printers two key factors should be considered; print head type and ink type as different products are recommended for each. The two main ink types are Water-based inks and solvent-based inks and within the solvent groups there is a further distinction between mild solvents (also known as eco solvents) and full (or aggressive) solvents.

Part Two will delve more deeply into the different print head technologies
and their associated inks. Guide to Digital Printing for Exhibition Stands and Digital Displays pt1